Spirit and Soul
by Simplicity of Heart
Summary: Chihiro remembers everything except for Haku. When her memory comes back, she goes to the spirit world... It's up to Chihiro to go through the adventure of a lifetime (again) to find him!!! What will happen?! plz R&R!! (ps. this is my first fanfic!)
1. Chapter 1: Name Calling

Spirit and Soul 

Chapter One:  Name Calling

(A/N:  "Spirited Away" belongs to Anime-God, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, and Disney.  Hopefully you all can tell which things are not mine and which are. This is my first fanfic, so be nice.  Oh, and I suggest to watch "Spirited Away" if you haven't yet. It is the best!  Well, enjoy!)

The sky above her twinkled like jewels strewn all over a dark velvet cloth.  Chihiro folded her arms behind her head. _'Everything is so quiet.'_  She thought.  It reminded her so much of the time she spent with Rin at the bathhouse.  Her legs swinging from the ledge and the warm, delicious dumpling Rin had swiped for her, but it all seemed so long ago. _'How long ago was it?' _Chihiro asked herself.  _'When was the last time I saw Rin, Kamajii and the Susuwatari?  And HIM?  How long has it been since I've seen HIM?'_

It had been five years since that thrilling adventure.  That adventure in the hidden town beyond the tunnel seemed too much like a dream for Chihiro.  She lay on the roof of her blue house on the corner trying to remember every single moment of it.  And she could remember everything… Almost everything.  She could remember Rin and Kamajii.  She could remember Yubaba and her twin sister Zeniiba.  She could remember No-Face, Bou, and Yu-Bird.  But for some reason, she could not remember HIM.  That boy that helped her, guided her, and cared for her.  All that remained of him in her memory was the love that could be felt between them.  His name, his face, his voice, and his touch were all lost to Chihiro.  

Chihiro had struggled night after night on her rooftop trying to remember HIM, anything about him.  She did all this in vain.  It seemed like someone had erased the boy from her memory, but some how he or she could not erase the love she felt for him and the love that she knew he had felt for her.  She clung to this bit of information; the knowing.  On the other hand, she really longed to know just who he was.

As she continued to try and reminisce, a thought came to her. "What if he doesn't love me anymore?  What if he doesn't remember me like I remember him?"  She asked herself aloud.  Many more "what ifs" came to her mind.

Maybe it was better that she didn't remember who the boy was, she thought.  Maybe there was a reason that she forgot.  Maybe it was to protect herself or him.  Maybe he couldn't remember her.  

Just then, Chihiro's mother's head popped out from her window and disrupted Chihiro's train of thought. "Chihiro!  Come down from there before you fall and break you back!"  

"I'll be down in a minute, mom!" Chihiro sat up and blew a kiss to the sky. _'Whoever you are, wherever you are… Please know that I still love you…'  _

Chihiro slid through her window into her room, and plopped down onto her bed.

"Really, Chihiro," said her mother as she cleaned up Chihiro's closet.  "You always have your head in the clouds!  I'm surprised you haven't been spirited away somewhere!"

(A/N:  Alright, alright!  I know it's a cheesy pun!  But just deal with it! LoL)

"MOM!"  Whined Chihiro, "I so do not!"

"Ok, ok.  Whatever you say, honey.  Just don't dream your life away."  And with that she leaned down and kissed Chihiro on the forehead, "sleep well."

Chihiro slid further into her covers and grumbled, "sure, whatever."

_'Dream my life away… Is that what I'm doing?'_  Her mother's words began to burn in her mind.  What if it was all a dream?!  What if she was just holding to some silly childhood memory?  The thought was too painful to bear. _'What if…'_  A single tear slid down her cheek. _'What if the boy never existed?  What if I created everything, all of it, just to deal with moving to a new house?'_

She buried her head into her pillows.  She couldn't accept it.  It couldn't be true.  And yet… it made more sense.  A little, lonely ten-year-old girl with nothing to do but create a world where she is the heroine and where she had friends, it seemed very likely.  She turned to her side and brought her knees to her chest.  Silent tears came pouring down her eyes.  _'It probably was just a dream…Just a dream…'_

As Chihiro's vision blurred, she saw something on her nightstand twinkle like the stars she had seen earlier.  She reached to pick it up and almost laughed aloud when she did.  She now knew for sure that she didn't make it up.  She took a peek at the treasure that lay in the palm of her hand.  It was a small purple ponytail holder.  It wasn't just any kind of purple, but it was too hard to pin down what kind of purple it exactly was.  It wasn't a ponytail holder that you could buy anywhere else either.  It sparkled 24-7, even in the dark! Chihiro knew that she couldn't have dreamed up the whole adventure because the ponytail holder was proof that it had happened.  Her friends had made this for her, to protect her.  Chihiro could feel that magic and friendship pour from the small piece of yarn.  She knew it wasn't a dream, and she knew that the mysterious boy existed.

The next morning, Chihiro woke up late, but luckily, it was a Saturday.  Suddenly, her door flew open, making Chihiro jump out of bed and onto the floor.  "CHI-CHI!  Wake up!  You're making us late again!"  It was Yumi, her best friend.

Chihiro tried to throw a pillow at her.  "Go away!  Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?! And don't call me Chi-Chi!"

Yumi had already begun to shuffle through Chihiro's clothes looking for the right outfit for the day. "How about this!?"  She whipped up a pair of short-shorts and a tube top.

Chihiro sat straight up. "Heck no!  Those aren't even my clothes!"

"I know," smiled Yumi sweetly, "they're mine!  So get up before I make you wear them, Chi-Chi!"

"Don't call me Chi-Chi!"  Chihiro yelled sleepily.  

Yumi began to dance around her, "CHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHI!!!!"

"Alright! Alright!  I'm up! I'm up! Just shut up and never call me Chi-Chi again!"

"Sure, whatever.  Geez!"  Yumi sat down on Chihiro's bed and started to flip through a magazine. "Just hurry up okay!  The rest of us are waiting at the park!"

"The rest of us?"  Asked Chihiro as she changed into the usual jeans and t-shirt.  Gone were the days of pink shorts and stripped green shirts.  

"You know," stated Yumi flatly, "Kyle, Fiona, and…" She threw a magazine to the side. "Guess who else is coming?!  JUBEI!!!"  She jumped up and down in delight.

"Not another set-up, Yumi!  How many times do I have to tell you?  I'm not interested!"

Jubei was a boy in their class.  He had had a crush on Chihiro since forever.  Of course, Chihiro was flattered that the smartest, hottest guy in school was interested in her, but she had someone else in mind to be her boyfriend.

"Why not!?  Jubei is one of the finest there is!  Ugh, you're not going to wear that are you?"

Chihiro looked at herself in the mirror.  "What's wrong?  I always wear jeans and a t-shirt."

Yumi slapped her head, "that's just it, you ALWAYS wear them!  Come on, the offers still up!"  She wagged the shorts and tube top in Chihiro's face.

"Erm… no thanks.  Only you could pull that ensemble off." And Yumi really could.  Besides one other girl, Yumi was the hottest girl in school.  _'I'm surprised she isn't with Jubei.  She could have any guy she wanted.'_  For a small-town girl, Yumi seemed very modern and city-like.  She constantly was changing her clothes and her makeup.

Yumi looked disappointed, "at least put some makeup on…"

Chihiro grabbed her trusty vanilla flavoured lip-gloss and put her hair in a ponytail.  "I'll swipe some gloss on while we get there.  Come on, let's go."

"About time.  Why do you always put your hair in a ponytail?  Your hair is so long now, it's almost to the small of your back.  You should leave it down…"

Since her town was very small, it only took about ten minutes to get to the park.  There were very few other forms of entertainment there. 

 Yumi ran ahead of Chihiro. "Look, there they are!"

Chihiro didn't know why she let Yumi drag her everywhere.  She really didn't feel like it.  Lately, her mind was somewhere else…

"H…Hey, Chihiro."  It was Jubei walking up to her with a bouquet of tulips in his hands. He held the bouquet out to her.  "These are for you."

"Umm," Chihiro took the flowers and smelled them, "thanks!"  She remembered the last time she had gotten a bouquet.  She had held it in the car five years ago.  The card that had come with the bouquet had helped her so much when she was in the spirit world.  _'Was that what it was called? The spirit world?'  _She shook her head, dismissing any thoughts about her surreal childhood adventure. "They smell great, Jubei. I really like them!"

Jubei shoved one hand into the pocket of his baggy jeans and ran the other through his soft blonde hair.  "Oh, it was nothing."  He blushed, which made Chihiro feel even guiltier for not having the same feelings. 

They walked around the park, played Frisbee, and ate some ice cream.  The whole time Jubei tried to strike up conversation with Chihiro, but she didn't really answer with more than a "yes" or a "uh huh." _'If it was all a dream, then why can't I seem to stop thinking about it?  Why won't the memory go away?'  _She stared up at the clouds.

"Chihiro, Chihiro, are you alright?"  Jubei was looking at her all concerned.  Chihiro noticed it was just the two of them now.  Yumi and the other had gone ahead to get some hot dogs from the vendor.  

Chihiro sat down at a nearby bench and said nonchalantly, "Oh I'm okay.  Yeah just thinking."

"About what?"  Asked Jubei taking a seat next to her. 

"Nothing.  It's nothing."  Chihiro had never really been alone with Jubei or sat this close to him either.  As he continued to speak, she took a good look at him.

He was very good looking.  His eyes were a clear blue, and his golden blonde hair tended to flop over his eyes once in awhile.  He was tall and well built.  Chihiro wondered why she didn't feel attracted to him like the rest of the female population.

"Chihiro," said Jubei looking at his shoes, "Chihiro, I really like you. I've liked you since you moved here, ten years ago.  I know I've had a lot of girlfriends between then and now, but I've always thought about you.  I think you the best thing since sliced bread.  This is the first time I've put my heart on the line and asked someone this.  I want…" This time he looked directly into her deep brown eyes. "I want you to be my girlfriend…"

Chihiro was speechless.  Sure, she knew Jubei liked her, but she really thought that if she didn't return his affections he'd move on someday.  She never thought it would come down to him asking her to be his girlfriend.  Her silence seemed to have encouraged Jubei to keep on talking. "I really really like you."  He looked around as if the right words could be found in the park. "No, I love you!  I love you, Chihiro!"

Just then, out of nowhere, Chihiro began to get a splitting headache.  "Jubei, I don't think…"

Jubei continued to stumble over a few more words.  He would not take "no" for an answer. "Chihiro, I promise to love you forever!  Promise."

Chihiro's head was throbbing with pain by now. "Jubei, please.  I can't-"

_'Promise?'_

_'Promise.'_

Chihiro paused.  A long time ago, someone had promised her something.  But she couldn't remember who or what.  She racked her brain for the answer but ended up making her headache worse.

Jubei leaned in to hold her, but she pulled away. "No!" she screamed and ran off.  

_'What's wrong with me?!  Why am I running?'_  Billions of thoughts were suddenly running through her mind, but she could not make head or tail of them.  She continued to run.  She ran from everything and everyone.

"Chihiro! Chihiro!"  She heard her friends yell.  Chihiro looked back at them.  That was a mistake, for she did not see the large rock in the middle of the path.  Or was it a rock?  She swore that she saw a face carved into it just before she fell.  Just before she hit the ground a name came to her. _'Haku…'_ It echoed into her mind.  She hit the ground headfirst and the world went black….    

(A/N:  So… How was it?!  Remember this is my FIRST ever.  But I will accept both good and bad comments, all writers do.  Any reviews will be taken with great appreciation so please rate!  There will be more promise! KK BYEBYE!)

                                                                                    ~ Luv Laney *. 


	2. Chapter 2: Ready to Return

Spirit and Soul

Chapter Two:  Ready to Return

(A/N:  Chapter two is up!!! Well actually I've had a lot done already, but I've been saving it because… well… I'm nervous!  LoL.. but no longer!  You all know who owns "Spirited Away" and it's characters.  And I forgot to mention that since it's been a while since I saw the movie I've forgotten some of the names!  So, I switch between the Japanese translated to English and the English names on the English version.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  Read and ENJOY!) 

_'Well we meet again sometime?'_

_'Sure.'_

_'Promise?'_

_'Promise.'_

_Chihiro was ten years old again, standing on the stone steps leading out of the spirit world and into the human.  Haku stood beside her with his black hair blowing in the wind.  She felt a tingly feeling run from her hand to the rest of her body.  She was holding his hand.  She felt safe and knew that everything would be fine.  It was time for her to leave, to leave Haku and the rest of her newfound friends.  Before leaving, she took one last look at him for she could not look back until she crosses the tunnel.  His skin had gotten a little bit more colour after she had squashed the black slug that bonded him to Yubaba, and his beautiful green eyes had gained a sort of sparkle to them.  He was the Kohaku River spirit that saved her many years before, and she was the girl that saved him by helping him find his name…  She didn't want to leave him, but he had promised they would see each other again soon.  So she let go and ran.  _

_Everything was dark and Chihiro, age eleven, lay in her bed crying.  "Haku! Haku!  Where are you?"   She yelled into the night with no avail.  It had been a year and Haku still had no come to see her.  Haku had not kept his promise._

_Haku…_

_Haku…_

            "Haku!"  She jolted into a sitting position.  Chihiro was in a hospital bed with a bandaged head.  Gingerly, she got up and walked to the mirror that hung on the wall.  She had a small cut on the side of her forehead that was on a bump.  She winced as she placed the bandage back into place.  It was still day outside.  _'Where is everyone?'_

            "Chihiro!"  Yumi rushed into the room.  She crashed into Chihiro giving her the hug of a lifetime.

            "Yu...Yumi!  I can't breathe!"

            Yumi pulled back, her face full of tears. "You scared me half to death with the whole going unconscious thing!"

            "Sorry, I really didn't have a choice."  Trying to find her balance after Yumi had let go.  "How long was I out?"

            Jubei came in with another bouquet, this time roses.  _'I must've ran over the other bouquet when I tried to get away,' _thought Chihiro sadly.  She was beginning to think she really couldn't get rid of him.  "You were unconscious for about ten minutes," he said calmly, offering the new bouquet.  

            "Ten of the worst minutes of my life!"  Retorted Yumi.  "Now leave us!  Chihiro and I must talk in private!"  She shooed everyone else out of the room and shut the door behind her.  

            "Yumi, it's a small scratch.  You're such a drama queen!"  Chihiro sat down on the hospital bed.

            "I was concerned, okay!"  Yumi puffed up, but soon she deflated and began to fix her makeup.  "So…?"

            "So what?"  Chihiro asked.

            "So, what did Jubei say to you?"

            "What did Jubei--  Oh, Yumi, is that all you care about?!"  Chihiro laid back, exasperated.  "He didn't say anything.  He didn't say anything important!"

            "'He didn't say anything important!'"  Yumi mimicked her in a mocking tone. "Come on, just tell me… Or else I'll call you 'Chi-Chi' again… CHICHICHICHI!"

            Chihiro groaned.  She did not want to go through that again.  "Fine, fine!"  She put her hands up in surrender.  "He asked me to be his girlfriend…" She knew better than to lie to Yumi.  

            "He did?  That's great! And what did you say?!"

            Chihiro decided to tell her everything, excluding the dream part.  She told Yumi everything about what Jubei has said.

            "You did what?!"  Yumi stared at her incredulously.  "The best guy in school and you don't even budge!  Chihiro!"

            "I'm just not interested, Yumi.  I told you that before!"

            "Honestly, Chihiro."  Yumi wagged her lipstick at her. "You act like you aren't interested in guys at all!  Out of the five years that I've known you, not once have you showed "interest" in a single guy!"

            Chihiro went to look out the window. "I am interested in someone,"  she whispered under her breath.  _'Now that I remember everything, what should I do?'_

"What did you say?"

            Chihiro changed the subject.  "Did any of you guys see or pick up the thing I stumbled on?"

            "Thing you stumbled on," Yumi stopped fixing her powder to stare at Chihiro like she was crazy, "you didn't stumble on anything besides your own two feet."

            "But…" She had a feeling that she shouldn't question further. "Never mind."

            "That bump on the head…" Yumi shook her head as she put her compact back into her bag, "still didn't knock any sense into you!  Come on, let's take you home."

That night Chihiro had to fight with her parents to let them lie on the roof.  "You'll hurt yourself again!"  Said her mother.  

            "I'll be fine. I promise!"  In the end, Chihiro won, and she was back on the roof thinking.  

            _'Haku,'_ She thought with tears forming in her eyes, _'Haku, why haven't you come?  It's been five long years.'_  Chihiro was beginning to think it was just puppy love and that Haku had gone off with someone else.  Would he still have feelings for her after five years?  If he had, surely he would've come to see her.  _'No one finds love at the age oft ten.  Maybe, he's moved on...'_

            A shooting star blazed across the night sky, reminding Chihiro of Haku in his dragon form.  It hurt too much to know everything now.  She missed him so badly.  It was getting late, and Chihiro was beginning to get cold.  She slid back into her room and got into bed as always, but this time she had forgotten to close the window.  Chihiro didn't notice the wind coming into her room, so she fell right asleep. 

            She didn't dream at all, but she heard a voice calling her name. 

            "Chihiro…"

            "Chihiro…"

            "Chihiro…"

            The voice seemed so close and real that Chihiro woke up.  White petals were flying in from the outside and into her room.  The wind carried them in and scattered them all over her bed.  _'That's weird.  There aren't any trees with white petals nearby…'_

"Haku!"  Gasped Chihiro, and she quickly scrambled to look out her window.  The petals had stopped coming in, and there was nothing outside.  She plopped down into her bed, dismayed, and picked up one of the petals.  It was white and soft.  She remembered that Haku had used them to distract the spirits so she could try to get away.  It was one of the first times they met.  Chihiro wondered why this was happening, but then soon realized that it must've been because she remembered Haku.  _'Haku was calling me… Something must be wrong!'_

Chihiro was now fully awake.  _'If Haku can't come to me, I'll go to him!'  _She grabbed a bag but then realized that she wasn't sure what to pack.  Last time she was there, the bathhouse and her friends had provided everything for her.  She wondered if she really needed to pack anything.  She ended up packing some clothing, including underwear, jewellery that she was willing to part with just in case, and her cell phone.  She knew the bringing the cell was probably useless, but who really knew.

            Chihiro really didn't want to go out at that hour, but she needed to see Haku.  She needed to know if he was all right and if he felt the same way she felt about him.  She simply could not wait until tomorrow.  _'Besides,'_ she told herself, _'the tunnel isn't that far away.'_

So Chihiro tied whatever bed sheets she could find together and sneaked out through the window.  But not before writing a letter to her parents saying that she would be back soon and promised not to get hurt.  As soon as she got to the ground, Chihiro wanted to turn back.  Unfortunately, she knew that if she did, she would never be able to start going back there again.  _'This could be very dangerous…'_ She told herself gravely.  Yet she trudged on into the night.

About a half an hour to forty-five minutes later, she reached the entrance of the tunnel.  The fat, round statue with the two faces stood in front of it.  It really freaked Chihiro out, especially since she knew she had tripped on something like it that afternoon.  __

She took a deep breath and said, "Well, this is it.  Haku, I'm coming!"  And with that, she ran into the tunnel…

It was also dark on the other side, but everything could be seen distinctly because there were glowing balls of light flying around.  The field had not changed at all.  It still had the old path the led to the crossing point.  The tall green grasses blew in from the "breathe" that the old building behind her took.  Many little statues like the one outside or the one she had tripped on were scattered around; not one of them stood upright.  An abandoned old house stood in the distance.  Chihiro could not help but smile in the dark.  The last time she was here she was scared out of her wits.  

She finally reached the strip of rocks were a river was to be built.  She knew that after she crossed it the rocks and pasture would turn into a giant sea.  There was no going back after she crossed.  Then, something occurred to her that she had not thought about before.  If she crossed into the spirit world, she would begin to disappear unless she ate some food from that world. Last time, Haku had given her a berry.  This time, Chihiro didn't have Haku.  So where was she going to find the food?  There was nothing she really could do about that, so she decided that hopefully she'd be able to figure that out after the crossed.  She took one deep breath and crossed over.  

When she looked back, there was a great expanse of water behind her.  She had done it; she was in the spirit world.  _'I'm fading faster that I thought!'_ Chihiro stared at her hands, or rather through them.  _'I've got to find some food soon!'  _She raced around the spirit town looking for anything she could eat.  Chihiro knew better than to steal any food unless she wanted to turn into a pig like her parents did before.  

Finally, she found what she needed… a dumpster.  A dumpster that was located just outside the restaurant where her parents turned into pigs last time.  Or at least it looked like one.  It was made of tatami mats bonded together and was filled with tons of leftovers.  With the food so good in the spirit world, Chihiro was surprised there were any leftovers.  Carefully, she lifted the lid and stuck her hand in.

(A/N:  I have not clue if there are dumpsters in the spirit world, but do you want Chihiro to disappear?!)

            Chihiro grimaced at the sight that she pulled out.  A half-eaten tiny roasted bird was what she held.  _'Ew…'_ She held it away in disgust.  _'I so don't want to eat this!'_  Unfortunately, Chihiro really had no choice, her feet had totally disappeared and it already took lots of strength to hold the food up.  So, Chihiro took a big gulp and bit the leftover bird.  Luckily, the food didn't taste as bad as the idea of eating it, and soon Chihiro was whole and opaque again.  

            She continued on and hid in the bushes that were just outside the bridge that led to the bathhouse.  Slowly, she peeked around the side.  Chihiro saw the Yuna (the female workers) and the Aogaeru (the male workers) greet their guests into the bathhouse.  The guests, of course, included an array of different types of spirits.  Short and stout, fluffy yellow bird spirits waddled over, spirit nobles in their masks and red robes floated over, and forest spirits with their large antlers plodded over the bridge.  

            The last time she was here, Haku has told her to hold her breath while she crossed the bridge so no one could see her.  She wondered if that would still work without him with her.  She inched her away towards the bridge and took a big gulp of air before stepping on to it.  Chihiro didn't know if the spell of holding her breath had worked or if the workers and guests just plain ignored her, but she got across safely.  

Soon she was standing in front of Yubaba's bathhouse.  It was bigger than she remembered.  It's structure looked ancient with its pagoda style roofs, but it gave off a bright light and atmosphere that suggested it had many years ahead of it.  Without hesitation, Chihiro scrambled to the tiny door that was located next to the bathhouse's main entrance.  She then ended up in the small garden outside the bathhouse.  Silently, she tried to remember the directions Haku had given her to Kamajii's boiler room.  _'Take the door that leads outside and go down the stairs.  The stairs lead to a door that leads to the boiler room.  There, simple enough.'_

Chihiro has reached the stairs without difficulty, but reaching the boiler room door was another problem.  She remembered with loathing the last time she tried to go down the very same stairs.  She had slipped, ran down the stairs to prevent from falling face forward, and smacked into the wall at the bottom.  It was not an experience she wanted to relive.  She turned around and approached the steps backwards.  Delicately, she went down them as one would go down a ladder.  The trip took her forever, but she finally reached the bottom without injury.

(A/N:  The smacking into the wall was so funny the first time, and I'm sure it would've been funny the second time.  On the other hand, we must give Chihiro a break!)

            After Chihiro had walked through the tiny hall of steaming machines, she reached the open doorway to Kamajii's room.  She stood there for a moment, taking in the scene that lay before her.  On the other side of the room was a small sliding door where Rin would deliver Kamajii's food.  To the left of that was Kamajii himself, sitting on his box pedestal.  His six arms worked quickly grinding, collecting, and mixing herbs.  Four herbal tabs dangled in front of his face.  Each red tab had the name of a type of herbal bath or soak.  It was Kamajii's job to mix the herbs, put them into the water, and send the water to wherever it was needed.  Now and then, he's use a spare hand to push up his dark, round glasses.  The wall on the right of the door looked like a giant filing cabinet.  Hundreds of wooden drawers contained different kinds of herbs and soaks, from dried wormwood to sulphur.  Kamajii always knew which drawer contained what, and it probably took him years of practice to do so.  In the centre of the room was a square area that was one step lower than the wood floor.  The flooring was of packed earth and Chihiro could see the Susuwatari at work.  The Susuwatari were tiny piles of soot that had been enchanted by Kamajii to carry coals into the boiler that heated the bath water.  Hundreds of them, like little hairy spiders, crawled in and out of there little tunnels carrying coals.  Chihiro respected them for their work very much because the coals were no ordinary coals.  The coals in the spirit world were so heavy that Chihiro had broken into a sweat when she has one tried to carry, or better to say haul, one into the fire.  

            "Kamajii!"  Shouted Chihiro with joy as she stepped into the boiler room.  "Kamajii!"

            Kamajii looked up from his work.  "What?  Who's yelling?"  He looked directly at Chihiro, but it took a few seconds before he fully remembered her.  "Why, Sen, it's you!  After all these years!  Why are you back here?!"

            "I just needed to come back!"  Shouted Chihiro over the boiler room sounds; she was not yet prepared to mention Haku's message to her.  "Where's Rin?"

            "Hmmm…"  Kamajii scratched his baldhead; his extremely huge and bushy moustache twitched from side to side.  "She should be here any minute now to bring me my dinner.  Just sit tight!"

            "Okay,"  Chihiro took a seat on the edge of the wood floor.  Her feet were covered with Susuwatari.  Each made little "eeps" and "meeps" of delight in seeing her.  But soon they returned to their work.  Business was booming for the bathhouse, and they could not afford to fall behind.

            Sen was Chihiro's servant name when she worked in the bathhouse for Yubaba.  Yubaba gained control of her servants by stealing their name.  So, if Chihiro had forgotten her name while she was Sen, she would have never been able to leave the spirit world and save her parents who had turned into pigs.  Thankfully, she has lots of help.  Especially from Haku, who could not remember his own name but could remember Chihiro's.

            Just as Kamajii had said, the tiny door slid open and Rin came into the room.  She had not aged a day.  Her long black hair was still tied in a low ponytail, and she wore her pink servants clothes.  "Kamajii!"  Stated Rin bluntly. "Where is your old bowl?  I told you to leave it out-"

            "Rin!"  Chihiro embraced Rin with all her might.

            "What the?"  Rin pulled Chihiro back to get a good look at her.  Rin let out a gasp, "it can't be?!  Sen?!"

            Chihiro's face lit up.  "Yes!  It's me!  Sen!  I've missed you so much!"  She gave Rin another squeeze and Rin returned the favour.

            Rin quickly served Kamajii his food and fed the Susuwatari their Kompeitou, the small star-shaped candy they loved.  "What are you doing here?"  Rin finally asked.

            "I needed to come back."  Answered Chihiro.  "No, thank you."  She said to the numerous Susuwatari that were offering Kompeitou to her.  She looked at Rin and at Kamajii.  It finally hit her just how much she had missed them!

            "You've changed so much, squirt." Stated Rin amused. "You're hair's so long and you've grown so pretty!"

            Chihiro blushed at Rin's words but quickly moved on to more serious matters.  "Where is Haku?  I haven't seen him around yet."

            Rin and Kamajii exchanged glances. "Haku,"  Rin said slowly, "went to see Yubaba as soon as you left.  Then we saw him leave.  We hoped that maybe he was with you…"

            "With me?  I haven't seen him in five years!"  Chihiro became worried.

            "He hasn't been seen around here for five years either, but we all saw him leave" Said Kamajii eating his noodles.

            Chihiro squirmed, "I don't have a good feeling about this.  I need to find Haku."  Chihiro told them about the voice she heard and about how she truly believed that it was Haku.  "I really need to find him, Rin!"

            "Yes, but where do you start?"  Inquired Rin.

            Chihiro thought for a moment.  "Take me to Yubaba,"  she said firmly, "maybe she knows."

            "Yubaba!" Shrieked Rin.  "Are you nuts?  She'll turn you into an animal.  Or worse yet, a piece of coal!  You know she was never to happy about you outsmarting her, and it didn't makes things any better when Haku demanded to leave."

            "All the same," Chihiro said with false confidence, "if she was the last one to see Haku then she must know where she is. Besides, Yubaba is nicer than she lets off."

            Rin looked at her forehead closely.  "What's that?"  She asked pointing to the bandage on Chihiro's head.

            Chihiro's hand flew up to the bandage she had totally forgotten about it.  "Oh, it's just a small bump.  I fell earlier today.  But that's beside the point, Rin, I have to see Yubaba.  I have to find Haku!  I can go to the Yubaba's office myself and I'll ask her for work so I can stay.  I just want to know that you won't try to stop me!"

            Rin looked at her sadly, but then quickly put on her chiding face. "Well then!"  She said removing the bandage. "We mustn't keep Haku waiting.  But you must let me take you to Yubaba's office.  Ugh."  Rin grimaced when she saw the ugly bump and cut the fall had left on Chihiro's forehead.  "And we can't send you off the Yubaba with that on your head!  She'll probably think you're a clumsy fool!"

            _'I probably still am,'_ thought Chihiro, but she let Rin tend to her anyways.

            "Kamajii, can you make some of that healing stuff you make?"

            Kamajii took out a grinding bowl and began to make some medicine.   Within no time he whipped up a dark, green paste.  "Now hold still," directed Rin, "it stings as bad as it smells, and it smells really bad."

            "AHHH!" Chihiro screamed as Rin applied the paste to her cut forehead.  It felt like it was on fire.  Chihiro ran around the room a couple of times, fanning her forehead.  She was more than relieved when the pain stopped.         

            "There, all gone!"  Said Rin, proud of her handy work.

            Chihiro touched her forehead gently.  The bump and the cut were both gone.  _'Wow, that's some powerful medicine!'_

            "Come on," urged Rin, "there were lots of guests today and Yubaba is in a good mood.  Let's go to her now before it turns sour."

            "Okay," agreed Chihiro. She went to Kamajii who was busy working on something she could not see. "Thank you for everything Kamajii."  She would have hugged him, but he really seemed absorbed in his work.  

            As she and Rin headed out the little door, Kamajii called, "Sen, do you have something that will help you remember your name?"

            Chihiro slapped her head.  Last time she had Haku and a card addressed to her.  She had forgotten to pack something with her name on it so she could remember.  Kamajii took her gesture as a "no" and held the thing he has been working on to her.  "This is for you then."  He held out a piece of black cord with a pendant.  The pendant was a rectangular piece of some kind of black, glassy stone.  It could not have been any bigger than the part of one's upper thumb.  The characters of Chihiro's name were carved into the wood and glittered in the light.

            "Oh, Kamajii.  It looks beautiful!  Thank you!"  This time she got to hug the multi-limbed, old man.         

            "So you don't forget!"  He announced.  "And bring Haku back when you find him.  We all have a lot to catch up on, don't we?"            

            Chihiro nodded, eyes filled with tears.  She then put on the necklace, bowed low, and followed Rin out of the boiler room.

            As she and Rin travelled through the bathhouse, Chihiro absorbed the sights she didn't have time to look at before.  There were many different kinds of baths, and running water could be heard everywhere.  Guests in towels and workers in servant clothes walked about.  Murmuring, laughter, and shouting could all be heard at once.  The air was always warm and inviting; it smelled spicy.  Every room in the bathhouse was heavily decorated with vases and elaborate paintings.   

            It took two transfers of the elevator, but they finally reached the top floor to where Yubaba's office was.  Chihiro turned to Rin. "Thank you so much, Rin.  Thank you for everything. Don't worry I'll be back soon!"

            "I know, squirt," said Rin trying to fight back tears.  "You be careful okay!"  She gave Chihiro one quick squeeze and let Chihiro out of the elevator.  

            "I will.  Bye!"  Chihiro watched as the doors closed and the elevator, with Rin in it, headed back down.

            The corridor leading to the office was dark and lined with giant vases.  Chihiro walked up bravely.  She was about to knock when the gold knocker spoke to her first, "Well, look who it is!  Chihiro was it?"  It eyes rolled around and made Chihiro shiver. "Well, don't just stand there!" It said harshly. "Come in!"

            The door swung open, but this time a magical force did not pull in Chihiro.  She had walk down two halls to get to the office.  The walls of the halls dripped with gold and fancy ornaments.  Bright light spilled in from every direction.  She walked slowly but assuredly.  She knew what she had to do, and she had it all planned out.

            Finally, she reached her destination, Yubaba's office.  The office, like everything else, still looked the same. On the left side of the room was a huge marble fireplace and the Kashira warmed themselves by the fire.  Chihiro never liked the Kashira.  They were a trio of heads… just heads.  They had huge eyes that never blinked, busy beards and eyebrows, and they were a sickly green colour.  They couldn't talk either; they just made grunting noises.  On the other side was a huge window with velvet curtains.  In front of the window as Yubaba's desk covered with jewels and papers.  And sitting at the desk, counting her riches, was none other than Yubaba.

            "So…" Said Yubaba coldly.  She didn't take her eyes off her work.  "You've come back, Chihiro.  What is that you want?"

            Chihiro opened her mouth and was about to speak when the room began to shake.  Heavy footsteps could be heard from the next room.  They came closer, and closer, and closer…

(A/N:  Haven't started chapter three, so get your comments in before I get it done!  I will try to use all your creative criticism, so please review! Thanx!)

                                                                                    *. ~ Luv Laney


	3. Chapter 3: The Agreement

Spirit and Soul

Chapter Three:  The Agreement 

(A/N:  Well, not much left to say… Thankies to all who R&R the other two chapters, and thanks in advance to al who do the same for this one.  Also note that I will start calling Chihiro "Sen" soon as not to cause any confusion.)

--PS:  In response to a review, you're right, Kyle and Fiona aren't Japanese names.  But other people were telling me that names like "Jubei" make them think of samurais. LoL.  Thus, I took the best of both worlds, both Western and Eastern names.  I hope that didn't really bother anyone.  And the title of the first chapter "Name Calling" isn't like the whole mocking, teasing thing.  But you know in the story how Chihiro was trying to pin down Haku's name?  Well at the end she hears it… sort of like a calling…. A NAME CALLING!  Make sense?  Yeah, it's lame but whatever…  Thanks for asking though.  I'm sure others were wondering also! Well, I should let you guys read now!  BYEBYE!

_'What in the world?'_ Thought Chihiro as she tried to balance herself.  The door to Yubaba's right crashed open.

            "Now you've done it," scolded Yubaba.  "You haven't even said a word and you're already causing trouble!"  Yubaba turned to the door and said in a sickly sweet voice, "Sweetums!  Don't come out here.  Mommy is just doing some business!"

            Chihiro knew right away who it was.  A huge hand emerged from behind the burgundy curtains, then a huge foot and another huge hand.  There were little sounds of struggle as he got tangled in the curtain again.  "Oh alright, let me help you out, honey!"  Yubaba used her magic to lift the curtains so her son could move through.  

            Finally, Bou was in the room.  He was one very tall baby, taller than his mother who was already as tall as the average human.  He didn't seem much older than the last time Chihiro saw him, but it did look like he got a little bit bigger.   "Sen," Bou said, his voice like a toddlers.  He already had a good vocabulary even thought he was still a baby.  This time, he wore a cloth diaper under his red apron.

(A/N:  I prefer that Bou has a diaper.  Either way, he still makes a really cute rodent!)

            _'I guess he still hasn't learned how to potty train yet,'_ thought Chihiro. "Hello, Bou!"  She said with false cheerfulness. "You've grown a lot!"

Chihiro watched as Yu-Bird landed on Bou shoulder.  Yu-bird used to be quite large and had the head of Yubaba, but after Zeniiba had changed him into a tiny, tiny crow like bird, him still had not decided changed back.  Yubaba waved a weary hand and the door fixed itself. After, there was a long silence.

            Finally, Yubaba broke the silence, "well, sweetums, you better say 'goodbye' now.  Chihiro was just about to leave…"

            Chihiro suddenly remembered what she was there for. "I need a job," she said steadily.  She wasn't going to leave until Yubaba gave her one.

            "Why, out of all the people in both worlds, should I give you a job?!"  Demanded Yubaba harshly.  The gruffness in Yubaba's voice suited her grumpy, old head.  And what a big head it was!  It width was probably the same length as someone extending both arms out!  She stomped towards Chihiro; her dark blue Victorian style dress swishing around her.  Yubaba's giant nose and wrinkled face was shoved before Chihiro, but Chihiro didn't react.  She knew that Yubaba could do nothing to her, especially with Bou in the room.

            _'Wow, she still has that marking in her forehead,'_ thought Chihiro, referring to the giant, boil-like marking in Yubaba's forehead. _'I wish she would just give me a job before I try to pop it!'_

(A/N:  I always wondered what the boil-thing was for…)

            "After all the money you cost me," fumed Yubaba.  "The damages No-Face caused cost me a fortune.  And all that gold he gave out; do you know what happened?  It turned to mud!  Why should I give you a job after you ran away to my sister?  Why should I give you a job after you made me loose a perfectly good henchmen like Haku?  Why should I—"

            Bou cut Yubaba off. "Give her a job, mommy."  He sounded determined.

            "Buh-But, dearie, she'll only bring down our profits!  Besides, we have all the workers we could need!"   

            Bou frowned and said, "give her a job now, or I won't like you."

            Chihiro knew that Yubaba would not be able to stand having her own son hate her, yet she continued to plead with Bou. "Darling!  You don't know about business like mommy does!  Mommy knows what's right for the bathhouse…"

            "GIVE-HER-A-JOB-NOW!"  Bou's lower lip began to tremble.

            "Alright, alright.  Don't cry!"  Yubaba waved her hand and a contract from her desk and zoomed it to Chihiro.

            "I need something to write with," said Chihiro.

            "Here, here!"  Yubaba waved her hand again and a feather pen flew to Chihiro.  "Now sign before I change my mind!"  She barked.

            As soon as Chihiro signed, the contract zipped out of her hands and into Yubaba's.  Like last time, Yubaba magically lifted characters of Chihiro's name and took them; only leaving one left.  "You're name is Sen now.  You got it?"  Yubaba then turned to Bou with a sweet smile on her face. "See, darling, mommy gave Sen a job.  Now, why don't you go back to sleep?"

            "Sen," Bou said to her, "will you be okay?"

            Chihiro smiled. "Of course," she replied, "thank you very much for helping me, Bou."  Bou nodded and squished back in through the door to take a nap.  Sen was left alone with Yubaba.

            "Since Haku isn't here, you'll have to show yourself out," said Yubaba as she returned to her desk.  But Sen didn't leave; she stayed where she was.  Yubaba looked up from her work.  "Well, why are you still here?"

            "I want…" Sen finally had gotten the chance to ask her question.  "I want to know where Haku is.  You were the last one to see him. You must have some idea to where he is!"

            "You really think I'd keep track of that boy?"  Sneered Yubaba. "Ha! I haven't seen him since the day you left!  He disappeared!  Probably ran off, that ungrateful little brat!"

            Sen was disappointed.  "So you haven't seen him?"

            Yubaba glared at her and said, "No, I haven't.  I told you that already!  I haven't seen him since I sent him off on his last mission!"

            Sen stopped. _'Last mission…'_  "You sent him on one last mission?"

            "Of course!"  Replied Yubaba clearly angered. "Do you think I would've let him go without somehow paying me?  We made an agreement.  He completes the mission I give him, and he gets to go free.  Simple, only he never came back!"

            Sen stepped forward and said anxiously, "so he went on a mission…Where?  Where did you send Haku?"

            "And why should I tell you?" Inquired Yubaba scornfully.  "The agreement was between Haku and me, not you."

            "Well…" Sen scrambled for an answer.  A light bulb must have gone off in her head because the next thing she said was, "we could make an agreement.  If you tell me where you sent Haku, I can go and finish the mission up for him and then you could let us both go!"

            "Hmm… I don't know"

            "And… uh… If I'm gone, I can't ruin the bathhouse like last time!  So it's a win-win situation for you!"  She entreated Yubaba, "please!" 

            That seemed to have helped Yubaba make her decision greatly. "Alright then," she said amused, "I'll tell you where Haku went and you must bring me the item he was supposed to retrieve. If you can do that successfully, I will let you both go."

            "Agreed."

            "You see, Sen, Haku's mission was to retrieve something that I truly desire.  Of course, it's been five years, but I never could find a replacement.  Have you heard of the 'Revelation Pearl'?  Of course you haven't, being a worthless human and all. It's completely priceless.  Here sign this."

            A blank piece of parchment drifted into Sen's hands.  Sen knew better than to sign anything that was blank.  "I can't sign this.  There's nothing on it."

            "Oh, you humans and your suspicions. There!"

            Suddenly, the page shook violently.  Sen let go in surprise and to avoid getting cut.  Words began to form on the paper like magic. _'Duh, it is magic!'_ Sen told herself. "Thanks…" she murmured.  Carefully, she picked the floating contract and read it silently.  The black ink was still fresh on the paper and the words were lavishly written.

            _"I, Chihiro Ogino, have agreed to help the wealthy bathhouse owner, Yubaba.  I will retrieve the 'Revelation Pearl', wherever it may be and whoever it may be in the hands of.  I also solemnly swear not to get caught.  In return, I will receive information regarding Haku's last mission, along with my and Haku's freedom from our contract with Yubaba…"_

            It continued on with saying about how Yubaba was not responsible for any injury or death.  Sen signed it using her real name and gave it back.  

            "Now then," spoke Yubaba as she folded the contract and placed it in her files. "Where were we? Yes, the 'Revelation Pearl'.  I want it and that is all you need to know.  I don't want you snooping around in my business and asking what it's for.  Understand?"

            Sen nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

            "Alright then.  So Haku's mission was to retrieve the 'Revelation Pearl'.  At that time, it was in the possession of the Sisters of Heaven.  I sent Haku to their headquarters, which is called the Bast.  It is a floating ship…"

            Yubaba stopped talking.  She took out a cigarette and lit it with the flame that bounced above her finger.  Sen leaned in and said, "and…?"

            "And what?!" snapped Yubaba. "I've told you what Haku's mission was and where it was.  Now, it's your turn to finish the deal!"

            "But," cried Sen, "that doesn't tell me anything.  Where can I find the Bast!? How will I get there?!"

            "How would I know?" stated Yubaba, who was getting annoyed.  She took a long drag of her cigarette.  The smoke that swirled out of Yubaba's large nostrils distracted Sen. "Haku took my only locater crystal with him.  I should have never given it to him!  You're on your own. Now get out, before I make you!"

            Sen's hopes of finding Haku were ruined.  She felt like she was made of lead, all heavy and lifeless.  _'All this for nothing,'_ she thought miserably.  She ran out of Yubaba's office.  She could hear the Kashira grunting in excitement behind her.  Sen ran to the elevator, punching the buttons in frustration.  When she finally got into the elevator, she huddled in the corner and cried.  She was angry.  She was no closer to finding Haku than she was that morning.  What if Haku was in trouble?  Haku had helped Sen countless times, and all she could do for him was cry in an elevator.  She hated herself for not being able to do more, and she was mad at Yubaba for not telling her more.  She felt a lot like she did when she was in the spirit world the first time… Helpless.  Back then she had felt helpless because she could not help her parents, and now she felt helpless because she could not find Haku.  _'Think, think, think…'_  The words echoed in her head. 

            The doors of the elevator slid open and Sen tried to bolt out.  Unfortunately, she did no see the giant Radish God that was trying to get in.  She crashed into him with full force.  The Radish God stood there without reaction as Sen bounced off him and into the wall of the elevator.  Sen rubbed her back in pain.  Sen was right; she still was a clumsy fool.  Sen scuttled out sideways to get out.  "Sorry! So sorry!"  She exclaimed bowing vigorously.  The Radish God bowed back, the little finger like things at his mouth rippling.  Sen walked backwards bowing until the Radish God was fully into the elevator, then she spun around and dashed towards the Yuna sleeping quarters.  _'I need to find Rin,'_ Sen told herself, calming down and becoming more and more collected. _'What else can I do?!'_

Sen turned a corner and crashed into another person.  She didn't see who it was, but she saw that they wore a pink uniform.  "Rin!"  Cried Sen relieved.  The hand that belonged to the person pushed her away aggressively.  It turned out that the person Sen bumped into was not Rin, but just another worker. 

            "I'm not Rin!"  Replied the annoyed bath woman.  She pinched her nose rudely in front of Sen.  "Ugh, that smell!"

            The bath woman was referring to the supposedly disgusting smell that humans gave off.  Sen didn't take anything the Yuna said personally anymore.  _'Besides, at least I'm not the spirit of slugs like they are...'_  

            "Sorry," she mumbled.  "I thought you were Rin."

            "Rin is downstairs," stated the bath woman arrogantly.  She a malicious smile spread across her face. "She's cleaning the big tub."

            "Oh, okay.  Thank you."  Sen bowed and quickly got out of the way.  Sen made sure that the bath woman had her back to her before she stuck her own tongue out as a rude gesture.  When the bath woman turned back to look at her, Sen quickly looked away and pretended that she was looking at the view out the window.  She tried not to look too conspicuous, but the bath woman gave her a suspicious glare.  After, she fully sized Sen up as something worthless, the bath woman then turned up her nose like she was queen of the bathhouse and strode away.   

            Sen decided that she should help Rin clean the big tub.  It was not a job that one wanted to receive.  She also decided that if she was going to help Rin, she might as well get dressed into her uniform.  Sen helped herself to a pair of pink shorts and a pink shirt that she retrieved from the cupboard.  She changed quickly while no one was around and then stuffed her clothing into the cupboard. Finally, Sen headed down to the bath area to help Rin.

            Sen found Rin sweeping the floor, which was covered with seaweed and tall grasses.  Rin was muttering curses under her breath.  Rin always thought that the assistant managers of the bathhouse were out to get her, and she was probably right.  When Rin saw Sen, she stopped what she was doing and leaned into her broom.  After blowing pieces of hair that had fallen onto her face, Rin asked Sen, "so, how did it go?  Do you know what happened to Haku?"

            While cleaning up the floor, Sen explained to Rin that she didn't exactly know where Haku was but she had an idea.  Sen told Rin about Haku having one final mission, and that she had agreed to carry out the mission of Yubaba told her where Haku's mission was.

            "Are you crazy!"  Cried Rin.  "If Haku WAS caught in his last mission, what makes you think you have a CHANCE?!"

            Sen shrugged. "I need to do this Rin.  You and I both know I need to."

            "Well," said Rin while she finished up the last of the floor and sighing heavily. "I always knew you had spunk."  Rin shuddered as she turned her attention to the bath itself.  The sludge that coated the walls had gotten way worse over the years.  

            "Do you need me to get a bath tab?"  Inquired Sen. Sen hoped not because her last attempt would not have been successful if it had not been for No-Face giving her the tab.

"No thanks.  I've got one already."  Rin pulled out the red tab from her uniform and waved it around.  "It took me a while to get a good one from the assistant manager, but I showed him who's boss!"  Effortlessly, Rin knocked on part of the wall.  A door popped open, and Rin attached the bath tab to the harness that dangled inside.  With one quick tug, the bath tab zipped away.  Sen knew exactly where the tab was heading, to Kamajii's boiler room. 

            Within no time, a channel popped out from the wall and ended just above the dirty tub.  A string swung from the side of the wooden channel, inviting someone to pull it and let its contents out.  The next couple of events at the bathhouse passed by quickly for Sen. A few customers here, and some cleaning up there.  When the bathhouse finally closed, Sen was exhausted.  

            As she lay down in her sleeping mat, Rin turned to her. "So where exactly was Haku's last mission?" she asked.

            Sen yawned. "Oh, he was supposed to get some kind of pearl.  'Revel Pearl' or something like that…"  

            "'Revelation Pearl'," corrected Rin seriously.

            "Yeah," said Sen getting sleepier and sleepier.  "How'd you know?  Anyways, it's supposed to be on this ship called the Bast, and these sisters run it.  And, and, and…"  Sen yawned, more and more.

            "That's alright," Rid said soothingly, "you can tell me tomorrow when we serve Kamajii his breakfast.  You can tell me all about the Sisters of Heaven tomorrow…" There was something weird about Rin's voice.     

            "I never said they were the Sisters of Heaven."  

            "I know," said Rin quickly.  "They're just infamous in these parts.  Now go to sleep.  You must be tired."

            _'She's right… I am tired'_ Thought Sen as she fell asleep.

 (A/N:  Oooh, something is up with Rin!)

            The next morning Sen went with Rin to serve Kamajii his breakfast.  She filled Kamajii in with what had happened last night, the same way she had described it to Rin. Sen had recollection of the short, but odd, conversation she had with Rin the night before because she had been too sleepy.  Kamajii took everything in silence.  He made the occasional "hmm" and "I see", but that was all.  When Sen had finally finished telling him all she knew, Kamajii spoke. "Hmm, I see.  Yes, yes.  I've heard of the Sisters of Heaven.  They're a dangerous lot I hear, mostly dangerous towards men, though.  They've all taken an oath of chastity, and have sworn to themselves against men.  They're lead by a Pirate Queen… umm… Pirate Queen…"  Kamajii scratched his head.

            "Pirate Queen Diane," said Rin emotionlessly.

            "Yes!  That's her," exclaimed Kamajii, "Pirate Queen Diane!"

            Sen took a look at Rin.  She wanted to ask Rin how she knew that, but decided against it when she saw that Rin was in deep thought.  _'Which she never usually is in…'_  Sen then turned her attention back to Kamajii.  "But how will I find the Bast?  It's a floating ship!  It could be anywhere!  Yubaba said that Haku found the ship by using a locator crystal, but she only had one and he took it.  So what will I do now?"

            Kamajii stroked his bushy moustache, "hmmm…." Suddenly, three bath tabs jingled down, breaking into Kamajii's thoughts.  He looked and the tabs as if breaking from a daze, then he took the tabs and read the requests under his breath.  Completely ignoring Sen and Rin, he started to mix the herbs for all the baths.  After a couple of minutes, Sen lost patience and started to open her mouth. Before she could say anything, Kamajii spoke.  He turned to face Sen fully.  Sen could see her own reflection in his round, dark glasses.

            Kamajii's moustache swished to and fro as he spoke words of hope to Sen, "there is only one other person.  Only one other son owns another locator crystal…"

            _'Finally a breakthrough!'_ Sen told herself with relief.  She tensed, gulped and then asked, "Who?"

            Kamajii looked at Sen hard, his eyebrows knotting together.  He looked like he was having some kind of inner conflict about whether to tell Sen or not.  Finally, he spoke, "the other locator crystal belongs to…."

(A/N:  AHHH!!!  The end…. Of this chapter anyway.  LoL.  SUSPENSE!!!  IT'S KILLING ME!  Oh wait, it's not. I'm the author; I know what happens next.  MHUAHAHAHA!  Don't worry; I have everything planned, so there's no worry of writer's block.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR REVIEWING!  I seriously would have never updated if it didn't get the response it's been getting from you guys (the readers).  You make all the difference, ya know!  *tear*  

Oh and stuff to notice:

- Bast (used for the name of the ship) is actually an Egyptian Goddess.  She embodies life, fertility, and creative energy.

- Diane (used for the Pirate Queen) is named after the Roman Goddess.  She is called a bunch of things like "Goddess of the Hunt", "Goddess of the Moon" and so on.  She is like the Greek Goddess Artemis, who made sure that all her followers swore to chastity (just like the Queen Pirate Diane!)

Well, REVIEW people!!!!  I'll update soon! BYEBYE!)

                                                ~ *. Luv Laney

  
  



	4. Chapter 4: Methods of Getting There

Spirit and Soul

Chapter Four:  Methods of Getting There

(A/N:  Weird chappie.  Sen has a conversation with a doorknocker… lol… I'm wondering?  Will this ever get mushy?  Would that be a good thing?  I want mushiness… But how much? Argh, just read!  PS:  Sorry for the bad chapter title!)

            "Yubaba must really think you can do it, Sen," finally said Kamajii, still frowning.  "All these years, she never sent anyone else.  She must've thought you could do something… like you did last time…"

            "Kamajii!"  Cried Sen.  "Please, tell me who has the other locator crystal!  I need it to find the Bast!  Who is it!?"

            "Zeniiba."  Was all Kamajii said.

            Sen blinked.  _'Of course, Zeniiba would have one.  She's Yubaba's sister and she's a witch too!'_  Jumping for joy, she exclaimed, "This is great! Zeniiba will lend me the crystal for sure!"

            Rin finally spoke, "but how will you get to Zeniiba's?  Maybe you should just forget about it for now.  It's not like you have to go right away, you dope!"  Rin laughed without any feeling, or as if to cover up other feelings.

            "Why are you trying to stop me all of the sudden?" asked Sen.

            Rin put up her hands in defence, "I'm not!  But, you really have no way of getting there, do you?  Kamajii has no more train tickets, none of us do.  And I doubt Yubaba would give you any money.  I'm not trying to stop you, quit putting words into my mouth."  Sen and Kamajii stared at Rin as if she were a totally different person.  Rin folded her arms and turned away, "Fine!  Go then!  What do I care?!"  She quickly amended her harsh words by clinging to Sen arm and saying, "I just don't want you to get hurt.  It's so dangerous!  Don't you think it sounds dangerous?"  Sen got a feeling that that was not the only reason, but she would have to worry about Rin later.  _'Maybe she just missed me so much that she doesn't want me to leave.'_  Thought Sen.

            "Of course I know it's dangerous, Rin.  Coming back here was dangerous, but I did it.  You don't need to worry, it'll all work out."  Sen wasn't actually sure that it would work out, but she figured that Rin needed the assurance.  

            "There is one way to get to Zeniiba," announced Kamajii.

            _'Wow,'_ Sen told herself, _'Kamajii is really the bringer of good news today.'_

            Kamajii continued, "Rin is right, train tickets are especially hard to come by these days. So, my guess is that you have to go the other way."

            "There's another way to get to Zeniiba's?" Asked Sen.

            "It wasn't any other way before, you see.  But there was one made from here to swamp bottom after you left.

            Kamajii had made Sen terribly impatient and curious.  "What is the other way?  Who is the person that uses it?  Come on, Kamajii!  I need to know all this!"

            "Patience! Patience!"  He replied.  "I will explain everything in time.  Now, where was I?"  Kamajii stopped to take a bite of his breakfast, which has gone cold after all the talking.  A little while later, he began speaking again. "It's no secret now that Bou and Zeniiba are close.  Bou told Yubaba that Zeniiba told him to visit, but Yubaba would not pay for the train tickets no matter what.  Bou went into a terrible tantrum."  Kamajii's eyebrows went up and then together as he yelled at the susuwatari, "Hey, you runts, you're supposed to be working!  Do you all want to turn back into soot?!" 

            Sen, Rin, and Kamajii had not noticed earlier but the susuwatari had clustered around them, ignoring their work and listening to the conversation.  They scattered when Kamajii yelled at them.  Some went straight back to work and some just ran back into their holes.  Kamajii shook his head, "you've been a bad influence on them, Sen. Ever since you came they've been taking breaks whenever they please!  Soon they'll want to get paid!"

            Sen laughed. "Well, they are hard workers.  But, Kamajii, please continue.  I want to be on my way as soon as possible.  Who knows how long it may take me to find Haku."

            "Of course," said Kamajii. "As I was saying, Bou went into a terrible tantrum.  Yubaba tried ignore it, but he'd shout so loud that it disturbed some of the customers.  In the end, Yubaba struck a deal with Zeniiba.  When one has enough power, a portal can be made.  Zeniiba wasn't powerful enough to make a two-way portal, so she asked Yubaba.  Yubaba, being the greedy witch that she is, agreed to make a portal that went from here to Zeniiba's if Zeniiba payed her 100 gold pieces.  But Bou had made business so slow, that Yubaba changed it to 50 gold pieces.  So,"  Kamajii paused to drink some tea from a yellow kettle he always had with him.  Sen wondered if it was really tea inside or some kind of alcohol because Kamajii always took large swigs of it. "So, Zeniiba created a portal from her home to the bathhouse, and Yubaba made one from the bathhouse to Zeniiba's cottage at Swamp Bottom.  The portal is in Bou's nursery."

            Sen face brightened, she remembered the nursery with is mainly blue walls.  It was filled with giant toys and pillows to accommodate Bou, and it came with lights that mimicked day or night.  She also remembered that the nursery was connected to Yubaba's office. "So, I can just ask Bou if I can use his portal?  That's easy enough!  Thank you so much, Kamajii!"

            "One second," said Kamajii. "I doubt Yubaba would let you use the portal.  She wouldn't like the idea of you going to her sister for help."  

            "Well then," said Sen as she frowned. "I can find another way there.  I did that once."

            "You won't need to," said Rin softly, which was totally out of character for Rin. "Yubaba's not here, she went scouting again this morning.  There's no one in her office."

            "Perfect!"  Exclaimed Sen.  " I can go right now then!"  She jumped up.  Suddenly she remembered that she was wearing her uniform, her servants' clothes.  "Wait!  I can't wear this!  I left my normal clothes in the cupboard where the rest of the uniforms where!"

            Rin seemed to return to her normal self, at least for a while. "You did what?!  Why'd you do that?  The Yuna have probably found it by now.  You'll never get them back!  Geez, don't you ever think?!"

            "I wasn't thinking," said Sen. "Sorry."

            Rin sighed. "Right, but what do we do now?"

            "I brought a bag with me.  I had clothes in there, but I don't remember where I left it."

            "Oh," said Kamajii, "you mean this bag?"  One of his arms held up Sen's large blue bag.  "You left it down here last night."

            "You're a lifesaver, Kamajii!"  Said Sen and she grabbed the bag.  She gave Kamajii a quick hug.  Quickly, she scanned through its contents and pulled out a purple t-shirt with a pair of khaki shorts.  She went through the door that she and Rin used to come in, and changed on the other side.  It felt good to be wearing something that was hers even though she only wore the uniform for a short while.  When she came back in she went to the suswatari for her shoes, which she had left in the boiler room.  "I need my shoes, please," she told them, "oh, and my socks too."  The suswatari were all too happy to help, and they bunched into two of their holes and carried out Sen's sneakers and socks.  Sen gingerly put them on as if they were like _Cinderella's_ glass slippers.  Then, she tapped her toe into the ground to make sure the shoe was on snugly; a unique ritual that she always did when she put on shoes.

(A/N:  The shoe-tapping, made everything much more realistic in the movie.  I just HAD to bring it up!)

            "Well now!"  Exclaimed Kamajii.  "It looks like you're all set.  So, this is goodbye for now… again.  Hmm… getting a lot of that now aren't we?  Oh, don't look so sad."  He handed Sen a handkerchief and said, "Find Haku.   You can do it."

            "I could have never gotten this far without you or Rin, Kamajii."  Tears started to form in Sen eyes, she didn't really want to say goodbye again.  "I don't know how to thank you all…"

            Kamajii smiled, revealing a missing tooth. "Just be safe.  You owe us nothing."  Kamajii turned to Rin.  "Take her to Yubaba's office Rin.  I don't think it would be proper to let her go all the way up there on her own."

            "Yes, Kamajii," said Rin.  She had returned to her strange state.  Rin started to head of out the boiler room and Sen followed carrying her blue bag.

            "Goodbye, Kamajii."

            Kamajii scowled, "say 'see you later'.  It's better."  

            Sen laughed in spite of the sadness of leaving her friends all over again.  "See you later, Kamajii."

            _'He seems so sure that I'll succeed,'_ thought Sen. _'I just hope he's right_'

            The trip to Yubaba's office was done in silence.  Rin didn't say a single word, and Sen didn't provoke her to speak.  But when they finally reached the elevator's last stop, Rin had another outbreak.  "YOU JUST CAN'T GO, SEN!  IT'S JUST TOO DANGEROUS!  HAKU CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF!"

            "Rin!"  Cried Sen.  "What's has gotten into you.  You knew how it was going to be.  I've told you a million times that I need to find Haku.  He's been missing for five years!  You really think he's okay?!"

            Rin bowed her head.  "No… But-"

            Sen stopped her.  "There is something that you're keeping from me isn't there?"

            "NO!"  Protested Rin.  "But you just got here…  I guess… I guess I'm just worried."  She put on a fake smile.  "I know you have to do this.  And I'm behind you 100%, squirt."

            "Thanks, Rin," said Sen.  "I will come back."  She gave Rin and big hug and stepped out of the elevator.  Just before she reached the door, Rin called to her, "Sen!"

            "Yeah?"  Sen turned around.  

            "Erm… nothing.  Good luck!"

            "Thanks.  See you later, Rin!"  She said, waving vigorously.

            "Yeah… See you later."  And with that, Rin stepped back into the elevator and was gone.

            In the dark hallway Sen started to have doubts.  _'Maybe Rin's right.  Maybe Haku can take care of himself…  WHAT AM I SAYING?!  But it will be dangerous…  BUT I NEED TO DO THIS!  I did just get here…  THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE!  EVYERY SECOND COUNTS!'_  Sen hurried to the door in case her fears did get the better of her.  

            "Well, well…" It was the doorknocker.  Sen had forgotten all about it. "Trying to sneak into Yubaba's office are we?  Tsk, tsk!  You're going to get into trouble!"

            "Come on!  Can't you let me in just once?"  Begged Sen. 

            The doorknocker rolled its eyes.  "AHAHA!  You really think I would let you?! AHAHA!"  Sen didn't find it funny, but apparently the doorknocker did.  "Now," said the doorknocker with its voice dripping with venom, "Hmm, now what will Yubaba turn you into.  She doesn't like spies snooping in her business you know. And just after she told you that she didn't want you to do that… Hmm...  A fish perhaps?  They're always opening and closing their mouths with nothing coming out.  Like you!"  It started to cackle uncontrollably.  

            Sen fumed inside, _'And it called ME rude last time!'   _"Look," she said trying to sound calm and polite.  "I'm not here to snoop around.  I really don't have time to argue with a doorknob.  So please, just let me in."

            "I AM NOT A DOORKNOB, YOU STUPID HUMAN!  I AM A DOORKNOCKER!  DOORKNOCKER!   Stupid human, and it's not like I keep the door locked!"  

            _'The door isn't locked!'_ Realized Sen.  

            "You're probably still lazy and spoiled aren't you? Rude little girl!"

            Sen's eye began to twitch slightly.  The doorknocker was beginning to get on her nerves.  It continued to ridicule Sen and laugh at the terrible jokes it made.  Sen knew she didn't need to take this, and began to reach for the door.  

            "Hold it!" Yelled the doorknocker. "What do you think you're doing?!"

            "I'm going inside."

            "Fine then!  Go ahead.  I look forward to seeing you again… with gills!"

            Sen had enough.  She pulled out one sock from her bag and stuffed it as far as she could into the enchanted doorknockers mouth.  It tried to spit it out, but the sock was jammed in too tightly.  "Tell Yubaba want you want," she said calmly.  "I won't be here anyways."  Sen then opened the door and began to walk away from the muffled sounds of the doorknocker.  She was relieved to finally have the conversation end.  

            Sen tiptoed into Yubaba's office.  It was pretty much quiet except for the bouncing around and grunting of the Kashira.  Sen didn't worry too much about them, there was little they could do… or say for that matter.  _'Why are they even here?'_  Sen was just about to open the door that lead to the nursery, when she heard a rustling.  She almost had a heart attack because she thought Yubaba had come back.  Luckily, it was just the wind from the open window blowing into the papers on Yubaba's desk.  Sen was very much tempted to take a peek at the papers even though she knew it was not her business.  _'I better not prove that doorknocker right and snoop around.' _She thought as she turned back to the door.  Suddenly, the wind blew a bit stronger and a paper that was on the desk flew off and bumped into Sen's leg.  

            "Hmm?"  Sen looked down and pick up the paper. _'It wouldn't be a crime just to take a look at this.  I mean, it fell off the desk! I'll just take a little peek…'_

She picked up the paper and studied it.  There was very little writing except for the title, _The Revelation Pearl_.  The rest of the paper was filled with a rough sketch painted lightly with watercolour.  The paper was yellowed and curling at the edges, so Sen assumed it was old.   In the sketch there was a chain and hanging on one end was a silver claw.  Its four long, vicious looking talons were detailed with dark Cs for scales.  The talons clutched a some kind of sphere.  Whoever had painted the sketch successfully showed the different colours there were in the sphere.  Pinks, blues, and greens seemed to swirl in the otherwise inanimate picture.  _'So this is what I have to get?'_

Just then, Sen heard a voice outside.  "SHE STUFFED A SOCK INTO MY MOUTH!!!"  The voice cried to the top of its lungs! "SHE'S TRYING TO STEAL FROM YOU!"

            "Yubaba!"  Gasped Sen  crumpling the picture and sticking it in her pocket.  Yubaba had come back, and Sen was still standing in her office.  Sen quickly locked the doors of the office, hoping that it would delay Yubaba's wrath for a bit.  She stood in the middle of the office wringing her hands.  _'Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!'_  She dashed into the nursery and locked that door also.  Quickly, she scanned the room for Bou, the lights were off but she didn't think it would be too hard to spot him.  "Bou! Bou!"  She called frantically.  _'Where is HE?!'   _

"Mmmm, mmfff, mmm…"  Sen heard from under a pile of pillows.  She flew to the pile and began to tear though it.  _'Yubaba is going to turn me into a fish!  Yubaba is going to turn me into coal!  Yubaab's going to turn me into… Bou!'  _She had found Bou!  Finally, nearly at the bottom of the pillow pile was Bou taking a nap.  He looked so sweet with his thumb in his mouth.  But Sen really didn't have the time to admire it all.  She rocked Bou back and forth.  "Bou! Bou!  Wake up!  I need your help!"

            Bou frowned and tried to swat Sen away.  It was difficult for Sen to avoid getting hit because Bou's arms were ten times the size of her own.  He started to grumble.  Then, the worse thing that could possibly happen, happened.  Tears started to form in Bou's eyes and soon he was wailing at the top of his lungs.  Sen had to scramble back.  _'Okay, babies do not like to be woken up from naps.  Ah, not good, not good!  There's no time!  I need to hide!'_

Sen couldn't hide among the pillows because she has tossed them everywhere, and recreating a pile would take to long.  Panicking, she looked around the room for an answer.  She found a giant toy box, but when she opened it she saw that it was filled to the brim with toys of all sorts.  She found a pile of clothes, but then when she approached it she realized it was a pile of dirty, and extremely stinky, diapers.  Next she tried to hide in Bou's closet, but she quickly jumped out.  Something inside had crawled against her leg and she did not want to stay in the closet to find out what it was.  Finally, she found a hiding spot under Bou's bed, which was just high enough for her to squeeze under.  Sen held her breath as Yubaba came into the room.  Gulping quietly, Sen reached for her bag; to her dismay, she touched nothing.  Her hand felt all around her but her bag was not there.  _'Ah!  I must've dropped it in the closet!'_  

            "Hmm, I do smell something," Yubaba said aloud.  She checked to see if Bou was safe, which of course he was.  Sen could hear her heartbeats synchronizing with Yubaba's heavy footsteps.  _Thud, thud, thud…_ Yubaba halted right in front of Chihiro.  Sen's face was inches away from the witch's feet, and they stank.  They smelled so bad that Sen swore she could see green squiggly lines coming from them.  She covered her nose in disgust.  Yubaba's feet didn't have the magnitude of a stink spirit but it was getting there.  '_Uh oh, I think she's discovered me!'_

"I can't see anything!"  Announced Yubaba.  Her footsteps started to thud away.  Sen gasped for air and then sighed loudly; too loudly.  Sen heard Yubaba turn around.  "Hmm."  Said Yubaba as she sniffed around.  She could hear Yubaba come back to the bed; her large nose inhaling Sen's human scent.  Sen watched as Yubaba began to bend down to check under the bed. She lay flat under the bed, not moving or breathing.  Yubaba's head was so close, that Sen could faintly hear her breathing.  

            Sen squeezed her eyes shut.  She was not going to enjoy living the rest of her life out as a fish…

            Unexpectedly, a tacky sounding rip-off of Beethoven's Fur Elise began to play in the background.  Sen recognized the sound immediately.  _'My cell!  That's the ring tone!" _

            Yubaba followed the music… to the closet.  _'She going to find my bag!'_  

            "So, someone IS here…"  Pondered Yubaba out loud.  "I will not tolerate sneaky people!"  Sen could not see, but Yubaba had raised her arms and everything that wasn't living began to levitate slowly.  In full terror, Sen tried to hold the bed down by the bedposts.  It was no use; Sen's cover would be blown in a few minutes.  She started to say her prayers…

            Without warning, Sen heard a _click_ and the floor beneath her opened up.  Screaming, Sen fell into a swirling mass of colours…

(A/N:  Yeah, I wanted to make this longer but then it would go on forever.  I'll just save it for chapter 5.  So… what do y'all think?!  This chapter is really more like an interlude don't you think?  Anyways, got to go.  It may take me a while to get more done because of exams *shudder*.  Well, one must suffer for knowledge!  BYEBYE!  Thankies for R&Ring!)

                                                            ~ ^Love Laney^ *.


	5. Chapter 5: From Land to Sky

Spirit and Soul

Chapter 5: From Land to Sky

(A/N: Hello! I got it! I bought "Spirited Away"! Of course, I owe a sum of money now… but it is worth it! I can't watch it right now, because I'm sort oif sick so I can't watch television for long. Well, this is chapter 5. Chapter 5, these are the readers! Sorry, I'm sick, so therefore I have the right to act out of my mind coughcough. And to clear up some confusion, Sen did not mean to steal anything from Yubaba. The doorknocker was just being all… erm… melodramatic. Sen didn't steal the paper; she didn't even know it was there. It's a teenage reflex that she stuffed it into her pocket. You know, like when you're caught doing something you're not, you stuff whatever if is, if you can, into your pocket. 'Course she forgot all about it in her panic, but whatever. And Rin… unfortunately, we won't find out until later. Sorry! And now, our feature presentation… and thankies always for R&Ring! Ps: I wanted to put this up as soon as possible so I didn't really edit it. Sorry for it's bad grammar! )

"AHHHHHHH!" Sen felt dizzy as colours swirled and zoomed past her. She was falling, but she didn't know where. Trails of colours were blazing on either side of her. Sen felt very light. Then suddenly, the colours went forward a bit and then stopped. A forest and a house formed in front of Sen. She was suspended in the air for only a second on two before she came crashing into the ground. It took her a moment or two to collect herself, but she soon realized where she was. She was standing into front of Zeniiba's cottage. For some unknown reason, the portal was set off; the portal underneath Bou's bed. Sen breathed a sigh of relief. _'That was too close…'_ The falling to the ground bit had let huge dirt stains all over Sen clothes; she tried to brush them off, but it was no use. Before Sen could knock, she could hear voices inside. "No-Face, dear, could you get the door? The cookies are ready the take out of the oven."

The door opened letting the comforting smells of a bakery spill out. Sen was surprised to see No-Face wearing… an apron. It was pink with white, frilly piping and had messy patches of flour and dough all over it; very Martha Stewart.

(A/N: Oddly enough, I can imagine him wearing that…)

"Uh uh," was all he said, and probably all he'd ever say. Like the Kashira and the suswatari, No-Face was pretty much limited to making only sounds and not words. Of course the last time he did speak was when he went berserk. _'And we don't want that to happen again, even if it lets him speak.'_ Sen awkwardly bowed low. No-Face moved aside and gestured for her to come in. "Uh, uh."

"Thank you," said Sen as she stepped inside. Though it was still day, outside had been cool and damp. Inside, it was warm and very welcoming. The cottage smelled like a bakery. Sen took a deep breath and looked around. The inside of Zeniiba's cottage mainly looked like one large room split into section. One section was for the kitchen, one section was for eating, and one section was for Zeniiba's spinning. Sen couldn't help but wonder where Zeniiba and No-Face slept.

Zeniiba was in the kitchen taking out some freshly baked cookies. She wore a similar apron to No-Face, only it looked more appropriate on her.

"Sit down, dear." Said Zeniiba in the same scratchy voice was her sister's only much gentler. No-Face pulled out a large wooden chair from her at the equally large wooden dining table. Sen took a seat and nodded her thanks.

"Have some cookies, dear. You looked famished." Zeniiba's voices croaked but still had the friendly warmness to it, unlike her sister.

Sen shook her head politely, "no, thank you. I'm not—" As soon as she caught a whiff of the cookie platter, her stomach made a plaintive growl. Covering her stomach, she said sheepishly, "well, maybe just a couple of cookies."

"Good girl," said Zeniiba smugly. "Now, have some tea with those cookies and you can tell us why you've paid us a visit."

Sen raised up her eyebrows in surprise at the fact that Zeniiba didn't know why she was there. "I'm a witch, dear, not a psychic," she said while she poured some orange-looking tea into some delicate-looking china.

By the time a couple of cookies and a cup of tea became half a platter and one whole pot, Sen had finished telling them her predicament.

"Well…" said Zeniiba.

"Uh…" said No-Face.

"So…" said Sen.

Zeniiba paced in front of them. "Hmm, so you need a locator crystal to find out where the Bast is. To... ah, to get to Haku…"

"Yes, yes!" Sen nodded her head vigorously.

"Well," stated Zeniiba, shrugging. "I haven't seen it in years!" Then turning to No-Face, she asked him. "When was the last time we saw that little gadget, No-Face dear?"

No-Face tapped his hand against his chin and did what appeared to be a frown. Suddenly, his face brightened, "Uh, uh. Uh, uh, uh…"

"Of course!" Clapped Zeniiba. "That time when that poor kitty got stuck up the tree and we couldn't find the ladder! Oh, good times!" No-Face nodded his agreement.

"Why didn't you just magic the kitten out of the tree?" Asked Sen, suddenly curious.

"Why would one need to use magic if one could do it with his own two hands?"

"I don't know… Because it's easier."

"Ah, yes, dear. Easier it is, but life is not easy. So I prefer to do things myself if I can."

Sen thought that Zeniiba's response was very wise and just as important as what she had told her on Sen's last visit. "So you do have a locator crystal?"

"Yes. It's a very handy tool I might add. But I haven't seen it in a long time, Sen."

"Oh." Sen's hope deflated.

"Well it may be in the storage room, dear. Don't lose hope so quickly!"

_'Storage room?' _Sen looked around as she wondered where the other room could be. There was still only the knitting area and the kitchen and dining room. How could there possibly be another space for a storage room?

"Yes, the storage room. No-Face, dear, can you please open the door to the storage room? I think I need to clean up Sen…"

_'Clean me up? What does she mean?' _Sen looked down at her clothes. Big splotches of dirt clung to Sen's clothes here and there. Sen was pretty sure she couldn't find a spot on herself that wasn't the least bit dirty.

No-Face got up without comment, not that he really could, and went to the back of the cottage. He felt around the wall until he had found just the right spot. Then, he knocked three times on the blank wall. It reminded her of getting the bath tab door at the bathhouse. Out of nowhere a door began to appear. It wasn't like POP it's there; it was like some invisible hand was painting it onto the wall. When the painting of the door was complete, it solidified into a real door.

Sen was awed by this and didn't see Zeniiba go fetch a bucket and fill it with water. She gave Sen a start when she placed it on the table. Zeniiba squeezed a couple of fruits that looked like lemons and some shiny, orange goo into the water. With a large wooden spoon, she stirred the concoction until bubbles formed on top. Zeniiba then gestured Sen to stand up and come to the kitchen. Sen didn't have the faintest idea of what Zeniiba was up to, but she obeyed with only a little bit of hesitation.

"What are you planning to—EEEK!" The water in the bucket had been freezing cold. Sen knew because as soon as she stood in the kitchen, Zeniiba dumped the mixture over Sen's head. But Sen was only sopping wet for a few minutes. The mixture that pooled at her feet soon began to retract instead of leaking outwards. Sen's mouth hung is disbelief, as it looked like her feet were soaking up the water. Inch by inch, starting with her feet, the liquid began to retreat back; back into the bucket! By the time all the funny liquid had gone back into the bucket looking dirty and used, Sen was thoroughly clean. She could have even sworn that her teeth even felt cleaner. Zeniiba smiled as Sen took a peek at the contents of the bucket. Instead of the bubbly mixture it was before, it was now a murky, dirty colour.

"Wow," said Sen quietly.

"Yes, well, I would've gotten you to take a real bath. But I know we need to get you on your way as soon as possible," responded Zeniiba as she went to the window to dump the dirty water out. Again, Sen wondered where there would be room to have a bathtub, especially since Zeniiba would need an extrememly large one to fit her shape. _'It has to do something with that door'_

The door was a pointed-arch shape with big, black iron hinges. It reminded Sen of the large wooden doors she'd seen in pictures of castles. This door had two huge, black iron panels going across it and shiny wood panels going horizontal. What was different was that there was a spade shape cut into the wood, like a peephole. On the other hand, unlike a peephole, the spade was the size of someone's palm and had an iron emblem inside and underneath the spade-shaped hole was a little antique-looking dial. At that moment, the emblem was of a simple flower.

"Oh, No-Face, that's not the right one. It's the one with the lamp remember? We need the storage room. That one leads to the garden, dear."

No-Face made a sad face and withdrew his hand from the dial.

Zeniiba went to his side. "It's okay, No-Face. We all make mistakes. Just try again, dear. Remember, the one with the lamp."

No-Face nodded and put his hand back on the dial. When he turned the dial to the right, a new emblem slid into the hole with a 'click'. Sen made a mental note of all the emblems that showed up.

_Tub…_

_Paper airplane…_

_Flasks…_

_Bed…_

Lamp… 

"Lamp!" shouted Sen. No-Face jumped and Sen apologized for having spooked him.

(A/N: It's like roulette or a slotmachine.)

"Uh, thank you, Sen. Okay, No-Face, open the door." No-Face nodded and pulled the door open. Sen had to gape at the room that the door opened to. Sen didn't even really consider it a room.

'_More like a small house!'_ There were rows upon rows of chests. None of them were labelled and all of them were packed with various junk. A broken fan, some violin strings, various broken flasks, but no locator crystal. There was a chest of dark coloured crystals, but Zeniiba had told her to say away from those.

"Unless you want to lose a limb, you should stay away from that, dear." Sen quickly shut the chest lid.

Sen sighed. It would take forever to find the locator crystal normally. "Isn't there some kind magic you could do to find it?"

"Well, yes, dear. But I would need a locator crystal to do it."

(A/N: I am currently obsessed with the idea of Catch-22.)

No-Face popped up some distance away covered in various types of crawling things. They were black like No-Face, so it looked more like No-Face's skin was crawling. Sen didn't even want to know what THOSE were. "Uh, uh. Uh, uh, uh uh." He said while he made arm gestures. When he did this, the crawlies showered from his arms.

"No-Face, dear, you're absolutely right. We don't have the time to find it… I'm sorry, Sen dear… But we'll think of something. Let's go back into the kitchen."

They went back into the kitchen and the magic door melted away. Sen was too disappointed to even ask how the door worked. They sat in what seemed like hours, throwing about random ideas.

"How about you –"

"I'm afraid not, dear…."

"Oh, but we could –"

"No, that wouldn't work"

"Uh, uh, uh…"

"Maybe…"

"Uh…"

They never reached a plan that guaranteed that Sen would get there in one piece; and no one wanted to risk that. In the end, it was Zeniiba who can up with the master plan, almost master plan that is.

"I'm afraid the only possible solution at the moment is for you to actually search the skies for the Bast."

"But, that would be impossible!" protested Sen.

"Uh, uh uh…"

"No-Face is right, dear, though the skies may be endless, the Sisters of Heaven are notorious. You know what they do? They go to small communities of spirits and… well, I'm not sure really, but they get all the female spirits to rebel! I don't really understand why though, dear. But there have been rumours that they plan to return to our region."

This was some consolation to Sen, but there was still the problem of getting there, up into the sky. Sen presented Zeniiba with this little issue to which Zeniiba replied, "Sen, dear, leave that to me! Let's go out into the yard were we'll have space. No-face dear, could you please grab one white sheet from the paper room. Remember, it's the one with the paper airplane on it."

Thus, they proceeded to the wall and Zeniiba tapped on it. The magical door once again appeared. This time Zeniiba spun the dial so quickly that Sen couldn't keep up with the changing emblems. After a couple of seconds, the dial came to a dead stop and an emblem of what looked like a robin halted into the spade-shaped space. Swinging the door open, Zeniiba stepped outside into a vast clearing. She beckoned and Sen stepped out side with her. Behind Sen, No-Face closed the door behind her. Zeniiba caught Sen staring at the closed door and moved in to explain.

"Simple teleportation trick, dear. It's an enchanted door. Opens to plenty of additions to the house. It's quite useful. Now, we'll just wait for No-Face to come."

Sen turned away from the door and inspected the yard before her. The grass was bright green and looked neon at times when the sunlight hit it just right. A cool breeze sent ripples down the fresh grass. Here and there, the uniformity of the green grass was broken by bunches of bright flowers that Sen couldn't name and in the distance mountains and masses of trees could be seen. While taking a breath Sen noted that it was fresh mountain air, not at all like the swampy air she was first welcomed with when she arrived at Zenniba's.

Within a few minutes No-Face returned with a small sheet of white paper. Sen recognized it immediately as the same material that was made to make small paper birds.

_'What's Zeniiba planning now?'_

"Oh, thank you, No-Face dear. Really, Sen, I don't know how I got along with out him." No-Face smiled at the compliment. He probably would have blushed as well if he were able to. Zeniiba walked further from the house and into the field, muttering to herself.

"Now, we'll need some leg room… A place to sit… Can't make them like last time…"

Sen and No-Face followed. "What do you think she's planning to do, No-Face?" Sen was starting to worry. _'How useful can a small piece of paper be?'_

No reassurance came from No-Face, instead he answered the only way he could: a shrug and an "uh."

"Sen! Sen, come here! I have our solution!"

"Great!" Exclaimed Sen as she manoeuvred herself in front of Zeniiba to see. "What have you come… Er… Zeniiba, what is that?"

"Why, Sen, can't you see? It's how you're going to find the Bast!" Zeniiba was beaming at her handiwork. On the other hand, Sen's expression was one mixed with confusion, disappointment, and disbelief.

(A/N: Imagine this face: oo" )

Zeniiba held out in her enormous, wrinkled hand a small origami crane! Sen could crush the thing between two fingers. With dismay she gingerly picked it up with two fingers by its tiny paper wing. Hoping that there was something more to the origami fowl, she shook it lightly. Nothing. Coughing she finally said, "ahem… um… Zeniiba, I don't understand. Is it supposed to find it for me? Do we send it off and it'll come back with the Bast's location or something?" In her mind, Sen reflected '_Maybe Zeniiba's finally lost it… I mean she's probably very, very old.'_

The corners of Zeniiba's mouth deepened as her lips curved into a smile. Her eyes squinted and twinkled with what could be described as a spark magic and mystery. "Silly girl, you're going to RIDE it!"

"WHAT!" Sen held the origami crane as far away from her as possible. No-Face seemed pleased with the old witch's solution for he clapped his hands and grunted his approval. However, he didn't seem to consider that Sen was over hundred times too big to actually ride the thing. _'Oh no! Zeniiba REALLY has lost it! What am I going to do now?'_ Sen turned to Zeniiba. The old witch's eyes were closed and she was smiling her secret smile.

"Of course you can't ride it just yet," said Zeniiba.

By now, Sen felt hopeless and frustrated. "What? You're going to attach a tiny origami basket for me to sit in?" Her tone was caustic. Immediately, Zeniiba disciplined Sen's disrespect by smacking her upside the head with a paper fan out of nowhere.

"Now that you mention it, that's not a bad idea. But there's no time for that. The sun is setting and you best be off before it does. I'll just ignore your rude remark, Sen."

Rubbing her head Sen immediately apologized. "I'm so sorry Zeniiba. It's just, I NEED to get to Haku. And I don't think riding a paper bird that I can crush with one toe would be the best way of…"

Zeniiba raised her wrinkled hand to cut Sen off. She let out a sigh and looked Sen squarely in the eyes. "Sen, how pessimistic you are! You really think I would waste you time by making a tiny bird that is of no use? How little faith you have in me and in yourself! Now, dear, please before the sun goes down, place the bird on the ground. Right there. That's a good girl." Sen bowed her head in guilt. She should've known Zeniiba would come through for her. Zeniiba took a step back from where the bird was placed and Sen followed suit. With curious eyes she watched on as Zeniiba spread her aged hands over the origami bird. Sen saw Zeniiba's lined lips moving but not a single sound came out. To Sen, it seemed like the world was put on mute, but she dared not break the silence.

Soon enough, Zeniiba's hands began glowing a bright pale yellow. The light almost appeared white and blinding. Sen had to squint in order to keep looking. After what seem liked hours, but surely must've been seconds for the sun hadn't moved from where Sen saw it last, Zeniiba backed away from the bird. She clasped her hands in front of her and her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Sen looked at the spot where she has placed the origami bird and saw…. The same tiny fowl just sitting there in all its origami-glory! However, this time Sen fought back her disappointment. _'Maybe there's more to this than I thought.'_

Slowly she inched her way towards the paper crane, not heeding Zeniiba's warnings to stay back. Sen bent over the crane and examined it closely. Her eyes widened. _'It's vibrating!'_ And suddenly, like a balloon being blown up it grew three times its size. Sen stumbled backwards and crawled backwards as the crane grew. Five times… fifty times… a hundred times. The crane's neck gracefully stretched outwards and its wings expanded to take up the vast space. Sen began to worry that its rapid growth would not stop, but suddenly it stopped shaking and the growing ceased. It was a good thing too for the crane had grown to the approximate size of Zeniiba's humble cottage. Sen stood up, her jaw almost touching the ground. "Wow," was all she could say.

Zeniiba smiled. "Believe in the impossible, my dear, and you will be able to do it. Now come, you haven't got much time." The wise woman took Sen hands and led her to the side of the crane, which had not only considerably grown but had also become animate. The crane lowered it white neck so that Sen could go up onto it's back. Sen had more than enough room on the crane's back but had nothing to hold onto to prevent her from sliding off.

"Uh. Ah. Uh." No-Face motioned to Zeniiba this little dilemma.

Zeniiba nodded. "Of course. No-Face, dear, you're perfectly right. We don't want Sen here to fall off. What we need is.. AH!" Zeniiba backed away from Sen. Her lips became a thin pink-brown line and the wrinkle between her eyebrows deepened and she knit them together in concentration. Sen jumped as Zeniiba unexpectedly clap her hands together. She then quickly pulled them apart and a long, thick leather cord seemed to materialize from her separating hands. She had made a rein. Skilfully, she looped the rein onto the crane's lowered head, and handed the other end of the loop to Sen.

"That should do the trick." No-Face grunted his similar opinion. "Now, Sen, I want you to be careful. There are spirits up in the sky. Some are harmless and some are not. Be on guard." Sen wanted to hug Zeniiba, but she was already on the crane's back. Instead, she clasped Zeniiba's hand in gratitude. Her eyes watered and she thanked her. "You don't know how much I appreciate this, Zeniiba, No-Face. Thank you…"

"Dear Sen, you're so grown up now. I can tell. I just wish you the best of luck. Be safe."

"Uh, uh." No-Face gave a weak smile. He was never good with goodbyes. He stepped up to Sen and placed something in her hand, a dark mossy green ball. A medicine ball. Sen remembered its usefulness well. She had used it once to help save Haku's life long ago. Smiling and shedding happy tears, she tucked it away in her pocket.

Finally, Sen took a firm grip on the reins. The crane instinctively knew it was time to take off. Slowly, it's paper wings began to beat faster and faster. It blew a strong wind so Zeniiba and No-Face had to back away, their arms held over their heads to protect from the debris the crane's wings were blowing about.

(A/N: Imagine a helicopter taking off… all that wind and stuff.)

Sen mouthed her final thank you and goodbye to the two people who had showed her so much kindness. She looked down as their waving figures became smaller and smaller. And finally, when they were nothing but mere specks in the green sea that was the field, she turned her eyes forward and watched as she flew upwards and towards the setting sun.

_'Haku… Haku… Please hold on… I'm coming for you…'_

(A/N: Hi, it's me. Laney. OKAY, so it took me 2 years to start writing again. I AM SO SORRY to all my readers… you don't know how happy it makes me to thinki actually have readers! I apologize to the umpteenth degree. It's just… stuff got weird over the last two years and I didn't have any time. But I'm back now.. and hopefully some of you will forgive me and continue to read. Thankies)

(PS: Reader's poll! How many of you wouldn't mind if the story went a little mushy? Let me know ;) )

Love Laney .


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